Sprocket-wheel.



c. M. suman.

SPROCKET WHEEL. vAPPLICATI'QN man senza. 1913.`

Patented Oct. 23, 1917.

CHARLES M. SNIDER, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE JEFFREY MANUFAC'- TUBING COMPL'Y, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION F OHIO.

SPROCKET-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 26, 1913. Serial No. 792,602.

The object of the` present invention is toA provide for cable conveyors, or cable power transmitters, a wheel adapted to positively engage with the cable attachments but which will be superior to the earlier wheels of this class. It consists in providing a wheel which can he of a large diameter and etl can be constructed with much less ineta than. has been used heretofore; which will have fewer teeth for guiding and engaging with the cable; which will permit the cable to flex freely as it pas-ies around the wheel Without danger of the transverse breakage well known to be incident to these cable structures at points near the ends of the sprocket gaps that are formed in the Wheel periphery; which will have the cable guide teeth formed on rim sections each section extending rigidlyfrom end to end and adapted to co-act with rigid guides on the hub section; together with novel means for adjusting the tooth carrying sections outward and inward and means for fastening them rigidly in position after adjustment.

Of the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention,-

Figure l is a side elevation of a sprocket wheel with one of the tooth-carrying sections detached.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation oi the toothcarrying section which is detached from the wheel shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the main central or hub portion of the wheel which is centrally apertured and adapted to be mounted on a suitable shaft which is not shown. Mounted upon this main central section are several segmental tooth-carrying sections 2, 2, three such sections being shown in the present instance. Each of the sections Q, 2, is provided with a peripheral groove adapted for the reception of a rope or cable 3 and with guide teeth e, 4, adapted to cooperate with the groove to hold the cable in place.

The peripheral curvature of each section 2 is preferably formed withl a radius considerably less than the radius of the wheel as a Whole. It is necessary to provide gaps between each section and the next to receive the sprocket blocks on the cable and, when the cable is tted with conveyor flights, the gaps must be rather long to accommodate said flights. The cable will necessarily lie straight across the gaps. If the peripheries of the sections were formed with the center of the wheel as the center of curvature, the cable would necessarily be sharply bent at the end of each section With resulting Wear and deterioration. By forming the sections with smaller radii, as shown, each straight section of the cable is tangent to each adjacent curved section, with the result that the cable is not subjected to any sharp bending.

At the end of each ci' the sections Zthere isprovided a pivoted tooth 5 of the sort shown and described in the several patents above referred to. .As the construction and operation of sprocket wheels having teeth of this sort art now well known and understood, it will not be necessary to enter `into a detailed description. It is sufficient to point out that the teeth are pivoted in order that they may be enabled at each revolution to` travel for a short distance in a straight line under the inliuence of one of the sprocket blocks 6 secured to the cable, instead of following its normal curved path. In this way the wear between the teeth and the sprocket blocks is greatly reduced.

The hub section l of the wheel is provided with a plurality of tongues 7 correspending in number to the number of toothcarrying sections 2. Each section 2 is provided with a groove 8 adapted to receive one of the tongues. The ends of the groove 8 are closed and are adapted to engage the ends of the corresponding tongue. Preferably, though not necessarily, each section 9. is also provided at each end of the groove S with an inward projecting boss 9 having two separated lugs 10, 10. The section l is notched to receive the bosses 9, 9, and is l Patented ct. 13, it?.-

5? eige.:

provided with tongues 11,V 11', to enter the spaces between the lugs 10,10. It will oe Vseen that when the tooth-carrying section is in place on the hub section the interengagement of the parts above described `Will rigidly hold the tivo sections against relative movement oirculnferentially or in directions parallel to the Wheel axis. The tooth-carrying section is, however, freely movable radany.

F or adjusting each tooth-Carrying section radially and for holding it in adjusted position, l provide the apertured bosses 12, 12

on the section 2, and the apertured bosses 13,

AIl() 13 on the section 1. Through these bosses there extend the bolts 14, 14, each of which is provided with four nuts, one on each side of each boss. lt will be readily seen that by properly adjusting these several nuts on thel bolts the tooth-carrying section can be moved outward or inward and again, after adjustment, be rigidly secured in position.Y

This radial adjustment of the tooth-carryn ing sections 1s essential in order to make the pitch of the Wheel the same as the pitch of' the sprocket blocks on the cable. During use the cable Twill stretch and the' pitch of the blocks will be changed. In order for the' linost eflieient operation of the Wheel it must l be adjusted from time to time to correspond with the change in the rope. i

I am aware thatin the Willson Patent, No.' 994,896, above referred to, it Was proposed to provide an adjustment by means of y .a bolt. My construction differs materially desmibed toothed section which is onftlie are of a Circle' muela less abrupt than iii-the eableybetweeu the gaps, "followed theare of'l oirole'st-ruel from the This results rora the above peripheral curvature for the struck with a radius ,considerably-,shorter than the radius from the A After introducing this departure from the' normal curvature, the neeessity beeomes still greater ter having?- strong holder forlthe tooth-earryingA rim' seetion and for. having devices vby, which it can be accurately ad-v justed to bring the cable to proper position andror means to rigidly'holdit inposition after adjustmentgjtlie povverfull pressure inA Ward arounda large part of the vvlieelbeing taken by each of the toothed rim seetiorislin turn, with a tendency to' force vit inward:

lelaini is:

ln a cable sprocket WheeL-tlie combination' oa hubV section, plurality oi' oireuni'fe? entially elongatedv tooth-,carrying sections having vinterlocking engagement with the hub section preventing relative oireumfen ential movement and permittingrelative inox-'ement inward and outward, saldtootliicarrying sections being spaced apart eireumf ferentially to form peripheral gaps-to acf oonunodate sprooket blocks on the. Cable and eaoli having a Cable engaging periphery on the line oi curvature described by a radius shorter than 'the distancel from said p0- riphery to the Wheel axis, means for adjusting' the tooth-carrying sections outward and' inward, and ine-ans for rigidly looking said sections in plane after adjustment.

ln testimony whereof, abv my signature, in presence 'of two Witnesses.

ysentant;s ai. aruosa 

